


In The Closet

by muscatmusic18



Series: December Prompts [15]
Category: Agent Carter - Fandom
Genre: December Prompt Challenge, F/M, Fluff, wedding ring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-08 22:36:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8866111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muscatmusic18/pseuds/muscatmusic18
Summary: Peggy gets ready for a Christmas party, and finds more than she'd planned to.Now with the proposal!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Paeonia for coming up with his idea for me. :)

Peggy stood outside of her and Daniel’s shared closet, trying to pick out an outfit for the Christmas party they were to attend that night; something that would be festive looking, but not tacky like so many of the Christmas dresses in the stores.

Finally, she settled on a emerald green dress, a low cut halter top with a hem falling to the floor. 

Knowing Daniel would get home with just enough time to get dressed, she swung her dress onto the bed before pulling out his suit, laying it down next to her dress and pulling out his green and silver tie, smiling at the way it matched her dress. 

It may have been something silly and trivial, but she liked it when the colors she wore matched his. In felt like they belonged to each other in a way. Even when they weren’t together, they could look at each other from across the room and still see the one they loved, marked with the color of the other one. It may have been a bit of a primal thought, but she let herself indulge.

Remembering a pair of silver shoes that she had which would look perfect with her dress for the night, she went back to the closet, getting on her knees to look for the long lost pair she knew she had floating around somewhere.

Still searching, she opened one of the many boxes and seeing that it was one of Daniel’s, went to put the lid back on before she noticed a velvet box and a note addressed to him.

Curiosity got the best of her, and she opened the velvet box, seeing a beautiful, classic wedding ring inside.

A pang of guilt coursed through her as she unfolded the letter and read the graceful script, but it was soon replaced by surprise as she read.

‘Daniel,  
This was your grandmother’s wedding ring, which she gave to me to give to one of my sons when they were ready for it. I know you haven’t been seeing anyone since the war, but I truly believe this ring was meant for you. You may not believe it now, but you will find someone, filho.  
Your grandmother’s only request was that it be given to the person you know you’ll spend the rest of your life with. If you aren’t sure about a girl, please do your Avό a favor and don’t give her this ring. But, if the moment you meet her you know she’s your other half, then give her this ring and the long lives of love and happiness that follow it wherever it goes.  
Don’t doubt your heart, Daniel.  
Mamãe’

Tears stung Peggy’s eyes as she re-folded the note, placing it back in the box as a smile snuck its way onto her lips, but not because of how beautifully written the note had been.

The velvet box the ring was kept in showed the signs of have been recently being dusted off after sitting for years. Like someone had given up on ever giving that ring to their true love, but had recently reconsidered the thought after reconciling with their other half.

She replaced the lid and stood, a stupid grin she had no chance of getting rid of for quite sometime, all the while thinking of that newly-dusted ring.

And right before Christmas, too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The proposal that Peggy's been waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The proposal: written because of popular demand and because it satisfies one of my headcanons. Two birds with one stone!
> 
> Thanks to irisdouglasiana for talking the history of Chinese food with me.

Peggy began to grow worried. Weeks after finding the ring in their closet, she held her breath every time they went out to a restaurant, every time they went to the boardwalk at dusk, every time that Daniel turned to talk to her, waiting for the time he would ask her the one question on her mind.

That meant that every moment of every day was spent waiting for him to utter those words.

It was a few weeks after New Year, and she started to give up hope on him asking her. In finding the ring box dusted off, she assumed that a proposal would be coming by Christmas or perhaps New Year, yet there was nothing. Perhaps she read the situation wrong, and Daniel wasn’t ready to ask her yet. She didn’t blame him, they had only been dating for just over a year now, but a big part of her was disappointed. She was fully prepared to answer his question with ‘yes’, and the anticipation of the past weeks had built up until now where almost all of her thoughts during her downtime surrounded her becoming Mrs. Sousa, like some doe-eyed school girl. Now that she wasn’t going to be able to call herself that anytime soon, frustration was replacing the disappointment.

Weeks after fighting with her disgruntlement, she found herself on a night where she could finally think about other events rather than the non existent proposal. As rarely as it happened, she was stuck at the SSR longer than Daniel, who’d been there very late himself, so after crossing the last cursed ‘t’ on her report, she headed home, picking up a take-out dinner on her way. They didn’t eat it often, but Daniel was probably too tired to cook, and she didn’t know how, so Chinese food would have to do.

Unlocking their front door, she made a beeline for the kitchen table, setting the food down before kicking off her shoes, sighing. She could run a mile in them, but as soon as the clock hit five, her feet hurt in every place imaginable.

“Daniel?” She called. “I brought food, I doubt you wanted to cook.”

“In here.” His voice came softly from the other side of the house.

She padded through the halls until she found him at the desk in the office, scribbling on a report.

“I could’ve done that. Instead you leave me alone at work?” She teased, moving to lean on the edge of the desk.

“Sorry.” He chuckled. “I came home to make dinner, but then I found a report I forgot about.”

“That’s alright. But put that aside for now, I want to eat.”

He obeyed, closing the file and standing up without the aide of his crutch, pecking a kiss to her lips. Before he could move, she pulled him back in, deepening the kiss. She may have been hungry, but he always seemed to win over anything.

His hands came to her waist, gripping her sides and pulling her closer but it still wasn’t close enough. She tugged at him again, but apparently she was too demanding and before she could react his weight was falling into her, off balance without his crutch and she, not expecting him to fall, toppled backward until she was flat on her back and Daniel was on top of her, both groaning at the impact.

“Oh God, Peg, I’m sorry, I-I-I thought I was balanced. God, are you okay?”

She coughed out a laugh, catching her breath. “Yes, just had the wind knocked out of me.”

Daniel rolled off of her and helped her sit up. “I’m so sorry, are you sure you’re okay?”

Peggy scooted across the carpet to sit next to him, her back leaning against the desk, “I promise. I’ve fallen a lot harder than that.”

He couldn’t meet her eyes, instead looking at the floor sheepishly. “Just as long as you’re alright.”

“I am. Maybe some bruises on my elbows, but I’ll be fine.” He still looked unsure, but she didn't press the topic any more. “Now, let’s go eat dinner. I'm starved.”

He looked at her briefly before looking back at his leg. “You go ahead and start. It’ll take me awhile to stand up; my leg’s been aching today.”

Shamed tinged his voice, and Peggy’s heart twisted in pain. Setting her hand atop his thigh, right where flesh met metal, she pressed down gently, trying to say a million words in a single action; trying to say that she didn't care, trying to say it wasn't his leg that mattered, trying to say that she loved him all the same.

They sat still for a moment, neither moving an inch until Daniel relaxed, his entire body slackening as he leaned back against the desk. Peggy found herself unable to hold back a smile, feeling the muscles of his thigh loosen as he let her in, both physically and mentally. They had talked about his leg; he'd shared his demons with her, but just as she did, he had walls, and it was habit to build them back up. But every time they went up, she brought them down, and each time she felt closer to him, and, if it was possible, she loved him even more.

Preparing to help him stand, she then had an idea, jumping up and bounding away, halfway out the room before Daniel realized she was moving.

“Wait there-” she called back as she quickly disappeared, Daniel only watching her go in confusion. A minute later, she returned with the food, smirking at him before plopping down, handing him a container and a fork.

“There's no reason we have to get up.” She opened the container of almond chicken, taking a bite before looking over at him.

He only smiled, bumping her foot with his with gratitude while trying to understand how a guy like him ended up with a beautiful, spontaneous, lovely, wild, perfect girl like her.

The food seemed to wash the stress of the day away, and the company of each other lightened their hearts, and soon they were talking and laughing just as usual, nothing on their minds except goodwill and contentment. 

Soon there was a lull in the conversation, both recovering from a particularly amusing story Peggy told; something to do with Jack, Mr. Jarvis, and one of Howard’s exotic animals that refused to cooperate. The couple sat chuckling at the imagery of two grown men chasing after an animal, trying to calm their racing hearts and taking the opportunity to eat a couple more bites, when suddenly Daniel was struck with the pure, ethereal beauty of Peggy.

It happened in one of the many glances he stole, the ones he stole everyday, but this time he felt something more, something in his chest that wanted to burst out and sing his love for her from the rooftops. He’d always loved her with his heart and soul, don’t doubt that, but this was the first time that he’d felt this sort of magnitude of love all at once for anyone.

He was enjoying the way her smile curved fully and gracefully, just like it always did when she was this happy, but this time there was something different. Or maybe there wasn’t, and it was just him, but this time his chest swelled and his breath caught in his throat and all he wanted to do was to pull her into his lap and kiss her senseless and never let her go.

Time resumed; he could breathe again, his mind seemed to come back to his body, and Peggy hadn’t noticed his moment of revelation. She was still smiling, focused on her container of food in her hands and taking bites where she could. Even eating, she was still the most beautiful thing Daniel had ever laid eyes on.

The connection between his mouth and brain had been severed during his out of body experience, and he was speaking before his mind knew what he was trying to say.

“Marry me.”

She paused mid-chew, quickly swallowing and turning to look at Daniel, “What?”

“Marry me,” he said with more conviction, his thoughts quickly catching up with his mouth. Just because he wasn’t planning on proposing tonight doesn’t mean he was against the idea.

She stayed silent, so he put his food aside, angling his body towards her. “To be honest, I wasn’t going to propose tonight. I don’t have the ring or a speech prepared, and I was going to take you somewhere nicer than our office,” she laughed quietly and he took her hands, confidence surging through him, “but sitting here with you, I realize just how much I love you. Eating Chinese food in the middle of the floor is the most mundane thing, but now I’m seeing that it wouldn’t have the same appeal if you weren’t here. Nothing would be the same if you weren’t here to share it with me, and I never want to be without this soaring feeling of love that I have whenever I’m with you. So,” he stroked the backs of her hands before looking up to meet her eyes, “Margaret Carter, will you become my wife?”

She was speechless, although she didn’t know why. She knew her answer, she had been thinking about it for weeks, yet this beloved, blasted man in front of her just happened to ask her the moment she would be caught off guard; the one moment she wasn’t prepared, the one time she’d given up on a proposal coming from him any time soon. In all her life, Peggy never thought that she would receive an offer of marriage whilst eating dinner on the floor, but then came Daniel Sousa, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

The look of fear edging onto his face pulled her from her reverie, and she quickly moved closer, placing her hands on his neck. “Yes. Yes I will, I’ll marry you, Daniel.”

He looked stunned for a second, but then he was laughing, pulling her into a passionate kiss and into his lap, leaning back against the desk as he tightened his arms around her like he was afraid she would disappear.

They broke for air, and she found herself unable to look away from the eyes of her husband - oh... her husband. She’d have to get used to that, but my, did it sound wonderful.

He began chuckling, looking a bit sheepish as he pecked a kiss to her temple, “I don’t even have the ring; I sent it away to the jewelers to get it resized for you, and I don’t have it back yet.”

Peggy just shook her head, pressing another kiss to his lips as she tried to stop the tears from welling, but she was just so incandescently happy, “That’s alright. I don’t care about a ring just yet, I just want you.”

“I care. I want you to have a ring so everybody will know you’re mine, but also so that I know this wasn’t a dream.” He rubs her bare finger to make a point.

She laughs. “It isn’t. Believe me, this isn’t a dream.”

He kisses her again before reaching for his container of chop suey, removing the metal handle and straightening it into a rod. He takes her left hand, pressing a soft kiss to it before placing the middle of the wire on her ring finger and wrapping the ends gently around twice, making a sturdy band. It slides off easily, no tugging involved and she watches as he bends and twists the remaining wire into a small, intricate flower, each curve so sure and smooth that there were no mistakes to be found.

She’s mesmerized, his strong fingers doing such delicate work and suddenly she’s picturing him as a young boy, assembling model airplanes as though they were training him for this moment.

Each twist and turn of the wire sent Peggy further into her thoughts, but then he dug into his pocket, pulling out his army knife and opening it to the right tool so he could arch the ends of the metal into the design, burying them so they couldn’t scratch her.

He presents her the ring, and the tears are welling in her eyes once again as he slips it on, finding that it fits perfectly.

“This is just a temporary, until we get the real one back.” His voice is thick, and Peggy looks to see unshed tears in his eyes as well, so she kisses him, cupping his jaw and at first he only feels the cool metal of her ring - her wedding ring - against his skin.

“I’ll still cherish this one forever.” Their foreheads are pressed together, smiling at each other, still not really believing they were just engaged on the floor of their office and that her wedding ring was made from the handle of take-out Chinese.

“I love you so much, Peggy. I love you to the moon and back.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose, smiling at the way she giggled.

“And I love you, Daniel, my darling. I love you to the depths of the ocean.”

And that is where they sat, neither willing to uncurl themselves from the other, but it didn’t matter to them. All that mattered was that they were side by side, and that they were to be joined together as one, never leaving the other’s side for anything for the rest of their lives.


End file.
